Searching the Stars
by Mrs Doctor Who 11
Summary: Sequel to Melody Pond Child of Lies, read that first - basically, Melody is Amy and the Doctor's daughter, River Song lied to Amy and Rory as she isn't there daughter, but neither the Doctor nor Amy know who she really is - mostly a Melody P fic.
1. Chapter 1

**The sequel is finally here! Yaaay! Now you may not understand much what's going on now, but don't worry, I'll be dealing with the cliffhanger of the prequel to this in either next chapter or the one after that. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>He ran through the forest, faster than he'd ever run before, knowing he was breaking the rules, how dangerous and impossible this was but he was holding the bundle of blankets in his arms as if he'd never let it go.<p>

The pounding of hundreds of footsteps were right behind him and in the distance he could hear screaming, yelling, crying - the people in the little village were having their houses raided, children pushed aside, women tossed on the streets, men kncoked unconscious - they were hurting they're own people in a desperate search for him.

It killed him to know that people out there were dieing because of him but he could not stop now; if he did they'd catch him instantly.

The bundle in his arms wailed; she was terrified.

"Shh, shh, I'm sorry, we have to run, I know it's loud but we can't let them catch us."

Every now and then he passed a cottage from which more people would run out to chase him.

Passing one cottage, a few feet away was a little girl with dark brown hair in a ponytail and brown eyes.

Her legs were dangling a little way off from the floor and she could not be more than six or seven.

She jumped down from the swing and began to walk back to the cottage when he raced past her.

Seeing the hoardes of angry villagers approaching, the child screamed and tried to run in the opposite direction but tripped and fell.

Knowing full well the villagers wouldn't stop even if they trampled the girl, he turned, dashed back to her and pulled her to her feet.

Grabbing her hand he ran with her, yelling "Run! RUN!".

Him sprinting, her stumbling along, they were still too close to the mob for comfort.

Suddenly, through the trees there was a snatch of blue amongst the twisting trunks.

A smile spread across his face as he propelled himself ever faster, he was _almost there_.

And then they reached it.

Letting go of the girls hand, he pulled out a key and unlocked the Police Box.

However, when he pulled on the doors, they remained firmly closed.

Shaking the doors he yelled "No, no, NO! Don't do this to me!" but the doors stayed firmly shut.

His head rested on the big blue box for a moment before he turned to the child, crouching before her.

"What's your name?"

"L-Lorna."

"Alright Lorna. I want you to run home, just run. Run!"

Not needing telling twice, she ran back the way they'd come, making sure she ran a good few feet to the left of where the mob was.

However, rather than run home, she hid behind a tree and watched as the villagers caught up with the man and surrounded him.

By now there was panic and fear in his eyes, along with tears as he backed against the box, pleading with them.

"No... Please! She needs to be with me... She's my daughter! You can't... Please, no... PLEASE!" he sobbed before the crowd, holding the blankets tight to his chest as the mob tried to snatch it from him.

Eventually they managed to hold the man's arms while they took the baby; the man still sobbing and trying to take her back.

As the villagers disappeared through the trees, the man sank down against the box, head in his hands, body racked with sobs she could hear from where she stood.

It was a sight so terrible she had to turn her head away, could not stand to look at a man broken from the inside out.

And when she turned to look at him again...

He was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! The more reviews, the quicker I'll update - and yes that is blackmail ;)<strong>

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow thanks for all your reviews! 13 is the most i've got for a first chap, so thanks so much! There are a lot of questions to be answered, but don't worry, most will be answered in next chapter and a few in this! I'm going away for a week, but when I get back I will update! Enjoy and R&R!**

She turned the corner, her face lighting up at the sight of him.

"Did you..." but she trailed off at the sight of his empty arms, his devastated face that held years of misery.

"Oh... well we can try again, I mean-"

"Amy, we can't, I saw her." his face was shocked and sad.

"Saw who?"

"Lorna. Lorna Bucket. I saw her here and I saw her die at Demons Run. It's over Amy. We can't run anymore."

Amy began backing away, tears dripping down her face.

"No... no..."

He caught her in a hug, pulled her to him as she sobbed.

"I'm sorry... it's over..."

"You could have saved her! You could have tried!"

"Amy, I did, believe me! I got to the TARDIS and she wouldn't let me in, and remember, River told us that the time I saw Lorna was the last time Melody would be there, that they'd find it too risky after that and move her! And as much as I try I can't find her Amy, I'm sorry."

"Then what is the point of you?" she screamed at him, and his lips parted in shock and hurt, then closed in a thin line.

He backed away.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean..." she started towards him.

"No! No, it's my turn to back away, it's my turn to leave! You don't get to say what you want and just expect me to get over it, I have feelings too! And for you to say _I'M_ useless? Really? What have you done Amy, to save our daughter, what exactly have you done? Nothing! Don't try and make out that you're the only one hurting here Amy because you sure as hell aren't! I'm losing my only family all over again, and in some ways it's a little bit worse than Gallifrey because she's still out there somewhere but I have to STAY AWAY!" shaking his head, eyes streaming, he walked out of the room.

And Amy was left to curl up on the floor sobbing, thinking of how she'd lost two people in one day.

* * *

><p><strong>Quite emotional but I don't think the Doctor does this a lot. I don't hate Amy but I think he would be hurting badly and react very emotionally. R&amp;R!<strong>

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back from a week of nature and family bonding, so i died, just in case you were wondering. but i came back to life. coz im cool like that. anyway on with the chapter - its quite long, and fyi, this is backtracking to what happened when the tardis exploded at the end of Melody Pond Child Of Lies and set just before Chapter 1 in this story. But I put it this way round because it makes you all really annoyed to have no idea what's going on. and because im mean. so yeh. enjoy R&R.**

* * *

><p>I woke, blinked my eyes in the bright light.<p>

My figers curled around thin air and I looked toward my outstretched arm.

It was crusted with blood.

I looked down at myself to find more blood all over me; I was lying on the TARDIS floor.

Beginning to panic, my breathing sped up as the events leading up to this came flooding back.

_Rory's death. Finding Melody. The TARDIS exloding._

_Melody._

I looked sharply to my side to find her blanket, empty but covered in blood.

Shaking, my hand dragged it to my chest, a scream curling from my throat.

"Amy? OW!" the Doctor's paniced voice rang out, then a loud thump.

His face appeared at the other side of the console, stretching his neck to spot me.

"Hang on, I'll be right there..." he hauled himself slowly up and started slowly toward me.

He too was covered in blood, his lip cut, his head soaked with it.

As he got closer I saw he was limping, his leg twisted to an unnatural angle.

He finally managed to stumble down the steps to me and fell to his knees, wincing, to examine me.

"Amy, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" he asked, his hands hovering above me as he tried to decide which wound to tend to first.

"She... I... What..." I couldn't get my mouth to work, to form the words to ask him.

I held up the bloodstained blanket.

Shaking, he took it from me and tears filled his eyes at he looked at the blanket, terrified.

"No... Please no... Not her... Not our daughter, no..." he clutched the blanket to his chest as he trembled and the tears streaked down his face.

"She's fine. That's Amy's blood on the blanket, not hers." a voice came from the doorway.

Our heads both clicked towards the figure stood in front of the TARDIS doors.

River.

"What? How do you... River?" my brain was scrambled, I could barely say a word.

"Amy. Doctor. Let me explain. It'll make sense in a moment but listen to me: you can't go back for Melody." River said grimly.

"What? What do you mean can't, she's our daughter of course we're going back!" the Doctor said, hauling me to my feet and then putting an arm around my waist to help me stand - but by the looks of his leg, it should have been me helping him.

"Listen to me. Doctor, listen. Melody is part of a fixed timeline. Do you know what that is?" River said gently.

"Of course I do, look why are you talking to me like a child?" the Doctor said warily.

"Because what I have to tell you isn't going to be easy to hear. Melody is part of a fixed timeline... one that doesn't factor either of you."

There was deadly silence.

Even I, who didn't often get complicated science stuff, understood what that meant.

Melody's life was fixed and we weren't a part of it.

"That's why-" River carried on but the Doctor interrupted.

"Shut. Up." he said slowly and his anger showed in his quiet words.

"Doctor, I-"

"Shut UP!" the Doctor yelled; I had never seen him this angry.

"Who are you to come in here and tell me that I can't see my daughter? No I'm serious River, who are you? WHO. ARE. YOU." he said, furious.

"That's why I'm here."

"Wait... Wait, you told me you were my daughter, you told me that you were Melody. And you told the Doctor something else, so what did you tell him?" I was confused.

"I told him the same - I was showing him the prayer leaf too, but you thought I was showing him the Gallifreyan on the cot. But I'm not your daughter Amy. It was important you thought I was, up until the point where it was absolutely necessary for you to know the truth."

"What truth? Why couldn't you tell us before?"

"Amy, I'm your daughters Guardian. My sole purpose in life is to protect your daughter and guide her through the times because you can not."

"So... You're her Guardian, but why couldn't you tell us this before?"

"She asked me to only tell you this when it was most important. She didn't want you to feel any more pain than necessary, that if you asked I had to say I was your daughter to make you think she was safe. She didn't want you hurting when you didn't need to be?"

"Who's She? Who told you to do all this?" I begged.

"Your daughter." River said, her eyes damp. "Imagine that - to you she's still just a baby and yet the one I've come from is all grown up. It's why the TARDIS exploded - Melody could not be taken out of her timeline."

"But, how can the TARDIS explode on the same day as it exploded with you inside it?" I asked.

"Think about Vincents picture. Was that really just one TARDIS exploding?" River said, and suddenly I saw it.

Vincent's painting, in my head and she was right, that wasn't just one TARDIS.

"It's the same TARDIS exploding at the exact same point in time. But that's-" I said.

"Impossible." the Doctor finished. "Just impossible enough to remove one explosion from time. Or at least the cause of it. That's why Melody's not here, because she was never here in the first place, because the explosion never happened, so we never rescued her from the Gamma Forests - but you, me and Melody will remember all of it." the Doctor finished.

"Okay so I get that. But, what about the Melody storyline thing, I mean there's gotta be a loophole, right? A little warp in time that we can go through to make her be here with us?" I said, smiling.

"Amy... a fixed timeline is just that, a fixed timeline. Therefore it can't be changed. It's like trying to intefere with your own past." River said.

"But the Doctor did!"

"And the universe exploded! Amy, you have to understand. This is it. There is no way out. Your daughter has to follow her timeline up to a point, and I don't know when that is. Until then, you can never interact with each other. I can be your only link."

"But... No... I mean the Doctor can do something, can't you?" I turned to the Doctor, expectant, but all I saw on his face was pain. "There- there's always a way out. You said!"

Tears began to dribble down my face as my last hopes dwindled.

"Amy... sometimes there isn't a way out." his own tears fell down his face.

"No. No. Not her, not our baby, not our Melody..." I sobbed, and our tears mixed as he pulled my face to his.

All I could hear over my sobbing was him saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw River get out her Vortex Manipulator.

"Wait! River... Will we ever see her again?" I say, shaking with the force of my despair.

River gave me the saddest look as tears of her own streamed down her face, and said only one word before she teleported away.

"Spoilers."

* * *

><p><strong>Aw, sad. Anyway, step aside Matt Smith, John Barrowman is in da house! Yeah, I just discovered Torchwood, mainly because I want to write Captain Jack into one of my stories and I basically have never seen him - so what started off as something good for you guys turned into something GREAT for me. I love Torchwood, Jack is awesome, OMG TRENCH COAT AND BRACES :0 he and the Doctor in their braces together ;) so step aside Matt Smith, Barrowmans the new hottie! But naw, Matt's still my number one guy! And I have a new goal - become the teenage version of Melody Pond in this story when Moffat is browsing fanfiction and decides to use my story as his DW plotline. Coz he will. Just so ya know. <strong>

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor stood up from the bed, his clothes rumpled.

He'd spent the night in his room, but he hadn't slept.

He'd needed time to mourn the loss of his daughter on his own.

Amys words had hurt, but there was a certain truth to them.

If a parents job was to protect their child, what sort of a parent did that make him?

He walked through to the Console Room.

He was surprised to find Amy, eyes shut, curled up on the Console Room floor, tearstains on her cheeks.

As he went to lift her up, intending to put her in her own room, she mumbled "I'm awake."

"How did you sleep?" the Doctor said warily, as Amy sat up.

"I didn't." Amy said.

He nodded.

"I'm so sorry." Amy said, and he could hear the tears in her voice.

He pulled her into a hug and she buried her head on his shoulder.

"I was thinking, y'know, we could go back-" she began.

"Amy, I've told you, we can't take her." the Doctor cut her off.

"No, I know. We can't take her - but we can give her a proper goodbye." she peeked up at him.

A grin spread across his face.

"I love you Amy Pond."

* * *

><p>I remember the day my parents left me.<p>

My mother kissed my forehead and smiled.

"You will never be alone."

My father held me one last time, tears in his eyes.

"Hold on. We're coming for you I swear it, whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you."

My life had been set in stone, and this time could not be changed.

If they alter my future, they will DIE...

Now I'm searching the stars to find them - before someone else finds me...

I am Melody Pond...

And my life is in danger...

But I will fight...

"Melody Pond is a superhero."

'Till the bitter end...

* * *

><p><strong>Short but sweet. Basically the end part is Melody remembering how her parents left her. Next week we get to meet Melody in person and learn what has happened to her. Review for a preview! :)<strong>

**Mrs DW 11 xx**


	5. Chapter 5

I looked at the picture, puzzled.

It couldn't be true.

It just couldn't.

Who were these people?

In the photograph I was holding were two people and a baby.

One a man, his grin so wide and beautiful and full of joy that I wanted to cry.

And a woman, a woman with hair as red as fire, shining all different shades of scarlet.

And a baby, tiny with a snub nose, and eyes - those eyes!

Such a beautiful green, so amazing that every time you looked you weren't sure whether they actually were green, but rather brown, or blue, or grey.

The most beautiful shade of green - the mirror of the man's.

They were his eyes.

And the baby's tuft of hair - the same dazzling shade of ruby.

It was her hair.

The people in the picture were obviously and undoubtedly the childs parents.

Trouble was...

That baby was me.

DWDWDW

I needed to find out the truth about the picture, and there was only one person I knew who could help.

She'd been there my whole life.

She'd watched over me through all of my childhood.

And that day, the first day I ran away...

She'd ran with me.

My guardian angel.

Lorna Bucket.

DWDWDW

I approached the girl, five years my senior, sat on the same swing she sat on every day, head tilted slightly forwards in the same position it was every day and feet trailing the worn ground in the same fashion they did every day.

Despite the fact I was seven and she twelve, we were so close it was as if we could read each others thoughts.

She looked up as I approached, her brown eyes crinkling with that same old smile.

I, however, did not smile back.

Instead I handed her the photo.

"Please. Can you help?" I whispered.

She looked down at the photo and her breathing quickened, her eyes glinting with recognition.

"Erm, this... This is a picture of a baby and her parents." she held the photo ut to me. "You know we're not meant to have photos of the parents here."

"Is this all you know?" I said steelily.

"'Course. I'd tell you if I-"

"You're lieing." I said quietly. "I can see it in your eyes, you are lieing to me and I know because that baby is me and those are my PARENTS! And no they did not go to jail just after I was born because I'm about a month in that picture and no they aren't dead they are VERY. MUCH. ALIVE." I yelled.

She looked at me with sad, wide eyes.

"Melody I tried. I tried to tell you, I did. I told you, every night. Remember the stories. Those stories, always the same about the man in the box and the baby in his arms and the people who dragged the baby away." Lorna pleaded.

"Don't lie, you never told me stories." I spat.

"I did. But they made you forget. I told you every night, and then the rain came. The rain. Think, Melody. Remember. It rains every night, all night and yet next morning nothing is wet. The rain washes away memories, not the ground. Every night I tell you and every night you forgot."

"If that's true then why do you remember?" I countered.

"Because it hurts more to remember. They let me remember because knowing the things you should hurts more than forgetting. They punish me for knowing." Lorna said, tears forming in her eyes.

"So who are they? Why are my parents in this picture if they went to jail as soon as I was born and were sentenced to death?" I said.

"Melody that is a lie. Gamma Forests. That's what it's called here. The neutral plane where war never comes. Do yu know what people outside call it?" Lorna asked.

I shook my head.

"Convict Coven. We're sent here because our parents are dangerous criminals. Without this place, the Shadow Proclamation would have us sentenced to death for being contaminated by their genes. This is our salvation. And our prison. We can never leave and never find a way out. God knows what lies in the trees beyond the border. Vashta Nerada, Winged Hypons, Plontoon Rogue Starkrons. Anything to keep us trapped." Tears pooled in Lorna's eyes.

"So where are you from? Who are your parents?" I asked, tears of my own forming as the truth hits.

"I'm from Earth. So are you, in a way. Technically your an Intergalactic Demzon - since you were born in the Demzo Galaxy, but you're descended from Earth - and Gallifrey." at her words, an image flashed into my mind.

Red grass capped with snow. Mountains touching the stars. Rocks of every colour. A second sun rising in the south. A huge Citadel, glowing and shining throughout. Silver leafed trees that when the wind blew, looked like fire.

But wait.

No...

They WERE on fire.

The red grass, red naturally but also stained with blood.

The mountains touching the stars covered in bodies. Rocks turned to dust. A second sun burning out. The Citadel in flames, people screaming as great metal monsters rose from the heart and screamed a war cry.

Gallifrey was burning.

"STOP IT! PLEASE STOP IT!" I screamed, sobbing, but the image stayed.

Suddenly, an old man made his way up the hill, up to a great blue box.

A girl followed, slipped in after him as the box whizzed away.

As he left his planet to die.

The image began to fade and I reached a hand out to grab hold, to keep hold of the only (albeit terrible) bit of my history I knew for sure.

But it left anyway, leaving me stood in what I had once seen as a beautiful forest that paled terribly in comparison to Gallifrey.

"Why? Why did it burn that day? Why is it gone and how did you know?" I said, tears flowing.

"You asked me about my parents. Rose Tyler and John Smith. They gave up their little girl at the age of five to help you escape one day. Because you have to get away. Before they do it. Before they kill you." she said.

I stepped backwards.

"Why would they kill me? WHY?" I screamed.

"Because, you know. You know about your parents and you weren't ever meant to. This is the first in a long line of fixed points in time that you will change - and I'm sorry." she said.

Alarms blared as I looked around panicked.

"Help me Lorna! What do I do?" I screamed.

She handed me a diary that was small, square and blue - the blue box I had seen on Gallifrey.

She looked at me one last time.

"Run."


	6. Chapter 6

_Run._

As I hurtled along the worn path, stumbling over stones and tree stumps, there was only one thought in my mind.

_Run._

I could hear Lorna behind me, running, a little less fast though - she'd had a heart condition since she was young, only one of her two hearts had formed - hang on, if she and I were part Gallifreyan, did that mean I had two hearts too? - I'd have to check later, right now I had to

_Run._

Lungs screaming, I made it to the fence.

_Run._

Hurtling over it, I yelled to Lorna to

_Run._

Turning, I saw her reach the fence too.

_Run._

She began to climb over, too out of breath to jump like I did, finding it hard to breathe let alone

_Run._

Suddenly, the crowd reached her, even as I screamed and tried to help her

_Run._

As she was dragged away and the crowd began to clamber over the fence, she screamed only one thing:

_Run._

Knowing I couldn't help her, I did the only thing I could do -

_Run._

If I'd have known then that she would be the first of many I would leave behind, perhaps I'd have tried to save her - but I didn't know then, and so Lorna was dragged backwards by the mob, and I just kept running for my life.

_Run._

For some reason, the villagers began to back off, jumping back over the fence, wide-eyed and scared, leaving.

Grinning in relief, I turned away from the distant fence and found a barrell of a gun right between my eyes.

Breathing quickly, I tried to make my voice work as a scream bubbled up in my throat.

However, instead of a scream a question came out.

"Who-who are you?" I said shaking.

"River Song. Drop your weapons." the woman said, eyes glittering.

"I'm seven!" I said incredulously.

"Ha! Forgot about that! Ah well, come with me!" River said, turning and putting the gun away.

"Sorry, did you just point a gun at me and then say I should follow you?" I said, wondering about this womans sanity.

"You are _so_ like your mother." River laughed.

"Wait - you know my parents?" I said excitedly, following her quickly.

"Of course! Only a while though, but I'm sure I'll be seeing more of them soon!" she said brightly, continuing to walk and I found it hard to keep up.

"So... you can take me to them?" I asked, hopefully.

She stopped dead and turned slowly on the spot, crouching in front of me; the light in her eyes seemed to have gone out.

"Melody. I'm sorry. I really can't." she said sadly.

"You said you know them." I smiled stiffly.

"Melody, do you know what a fixed point is?" River said, taking a breath as if she was going to answer her own question, doubting I would know the answer.

"A fixed point in time is a certain event that cannot be changed, or all of reality will unravel and the entire universe will fall in silence." I replied robotically.

"Oh. Well. Yes. But I think the universe ending would be extremely noisy - I wouldn't say it would fall in Silence." she smiled, walking off.

"No. Neither would I." I muttered, before hurrying to catch up.

"But why? Who made it a fixed point?" I asked her.

"The Silence. They want you for some reason, and-" River halted, staring at me intently.

"What?" I asked, touching my face to try and see if there was something there.

"Nothing... just thought I saw something in your eye..." River murmured.

I rubbed my eye profusely, but there was nothing there.

"Sorry, trick of the light. It's those eyes, your fathers eyes. Every shade of green - they look a different colour every time you turn your head!" River laughed.

"What I don't understand is, Lorna said there would be something out here - Vashta Nerada or something. So what's here? What keeps everyone inside the Forest's?" just as I said this, a huge groaning sound came from behind River, like metal being ripped apart.

Spinning to look, we saw a huge crack, like a crooked smile, form on one of the huge trees.

"That." River said hastily. "Run!"

Grabbing my hand, we both ran, as fast as we could away from the white light slowly creeping from the crack.

"If I could just get this Vortex Manipulator working..." River muttered, tapping at a device on her wrist.

Stumbling suddenly over a root, River tripped and landed, face down, on the forest floor.

She raised her head just as the light, rapidly approaching reached her.

It began to surround her foot and creep up her leg.

Her piles of curls blowing in her face, she screamed at me to run as the crack slowly began to erase her from existance...

* * *

><p><strong>DUN DUN DUNNNN! Poor River, she only has one chapter and already it seems her demise is near! So, review my minions, or I will have to cut this story since I'm considering dropping one! Review for an evil preview (coz I'm feeling evil this week. deal with it.)<strong>

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**

**P.S. Did you all see the Doctor marrying River? How DARE he cheat on me!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Short and, to be honest, not at all sweet. But I'm not really bothered - since no one reviews anymore. Sorry if you do, but I'm getting literally no story reviews anymore so, unless ou want me to stop writing (which I'd hate) UPDATE PLEASE!**

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**

* * *

><p>"No." I whispered.<p>

River froze and raised her head to me in astonishment.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"NO!" I yelled.

At that moment, I hated everything.

The people who took Lorna.

Lorna for keeping the truth from me.

My parents for leaving me.

The crack that was taking my only chance of escape.

Slamming my hand onto the crack, I suddenly knew everything.

The whole world in my head.

And it was splitting it apart.

I knew that this crack would erase me from time, but at least it would save River.

Giving up my life for someone I barely knew.

Births, deaths, wars, victories, losses, poverty, unities, lifes and loves.

I saw it all and knew but one thing.

It would all end in Silence.


	8. Chapter 8

"OK. Touched the crack. Erased from time. Literally every memory of me purged from the universe. One question. Why am I alive?" I shot up, smacking heads with someone and falling back down, clutching my head.

I opened my eyes, which were blurred with tears from the pain in my head, and a figure swam into view.

He had fluffy brown hair and green eyes.

"Dad!" I blurted out, my voice still slurred from sleep.

As my vision cleared, the other person let go of their head, and I saw that his hair was a light brown, not a dark bouncy one and his eyes were a turquoise blue, not green.

Flopping back in disappointment, I realised I was in some sort of hospital.

That's when I remembered River.

"River! Where's River?" I yelled, trying to scramble out of bed.

The doctor before me shouted for help and nurses came in to restrain me.

I settled down; if they sedated me, I'd never find out about River.

"Please. Where's my friend? Where's River?" as I looked imploringly at the doctor, the nurses exchanged confused looks.

"River Song? Admitted at the same time as me?" I told him.

"I'm sorry, we were called by someone but when we got there it was just you - no one else." he said.

I flopped back on my pillow and squeezed my eyes shut.

I heard the doctor and nurses leave quietly.

River was my only chance.

Where would I go now?

A noise in my room woke me up.

As I looked up, I saw a horrible creature before me.

A bulbous head, long white fingers and a suit.

I screamed as it extended a finger towards me.

A nurse ran in.

She too screamed, and went to tug me out of the room.

However, when she turned to my bed, she just began tucking in the edges and smoothing the sheet.

"What are you doing we have to run!" I yelled, but she looked at me blankly.

"Run dear? Why?" she turned and left. I looked at the monster, which simply glared at me.

"Ok. So she saw you, then she looked away and... she forgot. Well I looked away. And I remember. I see you. D'you hear me? I SEE YOU." I said strongly.

The monster raised a hand towards me.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed furiously.

Then, suddenly, it disappeared.

A hologram appeared before me.

It was River.

She looked paniced.

"Melody, there's no time, I can't tell you where I've gone or why or how, but listen to me: they're everywhere. You can't fight them, you can't help anyone, you can't stop. They'll catch you in an instant and if they catch you you're dead. I-" the hologram wavered as someone appeared in it's place.

A woman, with red curls piled on top of her head and an eyepatch.

"So you can see them then? Oh, they'll be so pleased! It's been such a long time since someone remembered. Well, someone with both eyes free, obviously. Anyway, can't stop and chat" she turned to walk out without so much as an explanation of who she was or why she was here, before turning her head. "And neither do you." she smirked and then left.

The River hologram flickered back on, just in time for me to catch the end.

"For the love of God they're everywhere, get out of there, for God's sake get out of there!"

And once again, I ran without looking back.

River was right, the monsters were everywhere.

They reached out, swarming the corridors of the hospital as they followed me, their breath rattling.

Tears stung my eyes as I saw patients and staff alike being killed by them, brought to dust.

But I couldn't stop. River said. I couldn't help.

Finally, I reached the exit.

Outside, I screeched to a halt.

The sight, if it hadnt been so horrifying, would have been breathtaking.

I was stood on the edge of Straxius 3's moon and the stars spread about me, so close I felt I could touch them.

But all around me, crammed all over the moon's small surface and still pouring out of the hospital were the monsters.

Hovering, arms outstretched and fast approaching were millions more of them.

I was surrounded.


	9. Chapter 9

My heart raced as I stared around at the monsters advancing towards me.

"Please. Please! Save me someone, please, someone - help me!" I whispered, eyes closed.

Everything went silent.

I opened my eyes.

I was in a dark room.

Alone.

Suddenly, River appeared in front of me with a crackle.

"Hello Melody." she smiled.

"Oh great. Now you help. Not when I'm about to be killed by a monster, not when I was being chased through a hospital by a whole host of them, but right at the last minute!" I protested.

River threw back her head and laughed.

"You are SO like your father!" she grinned.

There was a silence.

"I don't know what to say to that." I said quietly.

"Melody, I'm sorry, I-" River said apologetically.

"DON'T PATRONISE ME!" I'm seven years old, but I'm a Gallifreyan Timelord! I've looked into the Time Vortex, that crack on the tree, I've touched it! My mind is way more advanced than some child, so don't talk to me like I'm an idiot! You show up out of nowhere, tempt me with stories about my parents and then just dump me in some hospital with a load of monsters after me! Who are you River Song?" I spat.

"I'm your Guardian. I was born to protect you. If I die to save you, so be it. The need to protect you is written in my DNA. Everything from my fighting skills to my name were sculpted around yours, made to keep you safe in any situation." she explained.

"Do you have one for if I choose to leave?" I asked scornfully.

"N-no." River looked confused.

"A thought for evolution then!" I said sarcastically, before walking away without looking back.

* * *

><p><strong>A popular character return next character, leading to what I'm sure will be an AWESOME partnership :D <strong>

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm baaaaaaack! Sorry it's been so long, got sidetracked by school. Ah well, don't worry, I'll be regularly updatinmg and the chapters will be longer than this. - so long as you review! So please do, or I won't have motivation to update! Thanks for sticking with this story through the good, the bad and the reeeeeeaaaaaly long wait to update! :)**

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**

* * *

><p>Sometimes, Amy dreams.<p>

She dreams of a man with mad hair, a blue box, deep space, an apple with a face and a swimming pool in a library.

Sometimes she doesn't sleep.

She lies awake, with her Doctor beside her, thinking of her estranged family and her dead husband and her beautiful baby.

And sometimes - actually most times - she has nightmares.

Or night_mare_ to be more specific.

She is sat in Demon's Run, cradling Melody to her as she listens, chest tight, to the yells and gasps of her saviours, not knowing whether that shout was Rory's last, or if that uneven breathing is her husband choking on his final breath.

She remembers the white, hot fear pulsing through her veins, her heart pumping adrenaline rather than blood.

The only thing anchoring her to this world is her baby, her Melody, and then, quite suddenly, she is gone.

Amy is holding a blanket and white gloop she recognises as The Flesh, and she wonders how bad a mother she is to not even realise that the baby she had just held wasn't really her child.

She wakes, shaking and sweating, then rushes from the room.

She tears down the TARDIS corridor, rips open a door and sprints to the cot, desperate to hold her baby and prove to herself that her nightmare is just that.

But the cot is empty, and Melody is gone, and suddenly her nightmares are more real than she can ever know.


	11. Chapter 11

**Mega uber sorry for the long update wait! Thanks to those who remain loyal to this story and waited for me to realise how long I'd left it and write this. R and R please :D**

**Mrs Doctor Who 11 xx**

* * *

><p>I find the door and leave. It's simple, almost too simple, but then I shouldn't question it, I need things to be as simple as possible if I'm going to survive.<p>

All my life, I've never truly been alone. All those years in the Gamma Forests, they were always watching, waiting. And now, I am alone. I rub my eye absentmindedly as I ponder what to do.

I look around me, at the stars and and the planets and the spaceships drifting by like clouds. I have to get out of here.

Thats it! I'll get on a spaceship; after all, how hard can it be to hitch a lift? But... where to? I have no place to call my home, no one to tell me what to do. It's freedom, but why does freedom leave a bitter taste in my mouth and panic in my chest?

The panic rises, threatening to bubble up my throat and turn into a scream, but I push it down angrily. This is what I wanted. So I'll just have to make the best of things.

I have no idea how you hail a spaceship, so I just wait until one comes near and then wave like crazy. It stops, then drifts towards me.

The ship seems to scan me, then a door opens downwards and I run up it. As the door is closing, I hear River burst out of the door of the building and shout to me, but I ignore her and the sound of the door closing and the spaceship taking off hides her yells.

"So, what's a young girl like you doing in such a dangerous galaxy at this time?" the pilot asks without turning to face me.

And suddenly, I feel it. All of it. I'm not strong or clever or grown up. I am just a child who's lost her parents.

I burst into tears, feeling so small in this huge ship.

The pilot stands and comes towards me, and I see it's a woman. She looks youngish, in her thirties, and her short, black, curly hair has snuck out from under her pilots hat in places.

She crouches next to me, puts a hand reassuringly on my shoulder.

"What's wrong, love?" she asks.

"I want to go home." I sound small, even smaller than my age, and usually it's quite the opposite.

"Where's that?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, I'll tell you what, how's about if I drop you off at the nearest big planet? They have people there who can look after you, help you find your parents?"

"I don't have parents." I whisper, and the words have never stung as much as they do now.

"Oh... I'm sorry. Well, if I take you there, they can find you a home, maybe" she starts, but I cut her off, regaining my composure, wiping the tears away.

"I don't need that. I need... transport. I need to be able to move around, quickly, free. I'm looking for someone. And I don't know where to start so... I'm just going to search everywhere."

"An admirable decision!" the pilot laughs, taking a seat at the console again, and pushing the speed up so the ship jolts slightly, then flies forward. "And if it's space transport you want, at your age, I think you'd be best getting a Vortex Manipulator, although they're tricky to work."

"Oh, I know how. One fell in the forest one day, and for fun I took it apart and then put it all back together again. That made the workings of it pretty comprehensible."

The Pilot looks me up and down. "How old did you say you were?"

"I didn't."

"Right... well, if it's Vortex Manipulators you want, although I'm not supposed to condone this, your best bet is Dorium Maldovar, but it'll come at a price!"

"Then, if you would, take me there please?" I ask, and she nods.

* * *

><p>I wave to the ship as it flies away, after thanking the Pilot just about a million times for her kindness.<p>

I look at the building in front of me: The Maldovarium. It's dingy and crumbling, but I go inside anyway. I'm jostled by people and I smell strange things I've never smelt before, and when I finally break through into the main room, I can't believe my eyes.

It's a bar. No, it can't be. If this Dorium really sells such valuable goods, he can't be operating here, can he?I start to get scared. I'm getting funny looks, being the age I am and I just can't believe this is where Dorium is and if it's not then what do I do now?

And then, I see him. In the corner, bent over a drink of purple liquid, he's fat and blue and exactly how the Pilot described him.

I hurry over, breathe deeply; I need to be confident if I'm going to get what I want. I stand next to the chair opposite him.

"This seat taken?" I ask, and he looks up at me.

"Aren't you a bit _young_ to be drinking here?" he asks, bemused, an eyebrow raised.

"Aren't you a bit _old_ to be drinking here?" I say sarcastically. It's a risk, a real risk to say this, but it could be just the risk I need to take to get him on my side.

There is a pause, and then he begins to laugh heartily, until tears stream down his cheeks and he slaps his thighs in mirth.

"Sit down, sit down!" he wheezes, still laughing.

I smile and take a seat, waiting until he has calmed down.

"Right, now I'd like to know who it is who made me enjoy such laughter in a time where I've had little cause to do so!" he says jovially.

"Melody Pond." I extend a hand.

"Dorium Maldovar." he shakes it. "So, Melody Pond. What is it you want from me?"

He sips his drink.

"A Vortex Manipulator." I say, and he practically chokes on his drink.

"What does someone of your age want with one of those?" he splutters.

"I don't know who I am. Or where to go. Or what I'm going to do. I don't know who my parents are, not really, or where they are. So the thing I really need to do is find them. So transports what I need, first and foremost, more than food and acommodation."

"Well, I'm afraid to inform you that I'm closing down soon. It saddens me, as this business has kept me comfortable all these years, but I'm retiring. Hopefully to a nice planet like Klom, or maybe Apalapucia. I hear the locals are nice there, but I suppose having two hearts means more room for kindness!" he chuckles.

"Please! I really need this!" I plead.

"And you really think you can work it? Someone of your age? Not to be patronising, but that's damn near impossible in my opinion!"

"Is it now?" I ask.

"It has _never_ been done!"

"So, let's say if I were to - and we both know that I couldn't in a million years, of course - manage to work one... could I have it, free of charge?" I say innocently.

Dorium chuckles, and leans forward a little.

"If you could do that, I'd give it to you free of charge, and eat that mans hat!"

* * *

><p>I leave the Maldovarium five minutes later, laughing to myself.<p>

I have a brand new Vortex Manipulator on my wrist and had the great pleasure of watching a disgruntled Dorium steal a mans hat and then eat it.

So, where to now? I realised then just how much I had to explore. The whole universe, every single place and every single time. Plenty of places to search my parents. Plenty of things to do.

For someone who's never been out of the Gamma Forests, it's a little overwhelming, but in a good way. In a way that tells me that my life isn't likely to be short of excitement.

* * *

><p>One month since I left.<p>

I'm on Earth, twenty ninth of April 2011. The day of the Royal Wedding.

It's amazing, walking the streets of London to see practically all of them are closed down due to huge parties taking place in them.

Mismatched tables are placed end to end all along it, and food covers them, each piece somehow stamped with the British flag.

A huge screen shows the royal couple kiss, accompanied by raucous cheers from the crowd in the street, but it's something else that catches my eye.

Behind Will and Kate, a strange creature skulks inside the Palace, menacing, evil, _alien_.

I race off down the road, tapping coordinates into my Vortex Manipulator, ready to save the day and then be gone in an instant.

* * *

><p>Slitheens. They get everywhere. They're like rabbits!<p>

Their current scheme is to start a war with Mars - not to take over it, but to earn money through people betting on which planet will win!

This led to the Slitheen family breeding like wildfire, which isn't really great for anyone.

And here I am, sat in front of Mars' Council, and none of them will listen to a word I'm saying.

"You don't seem to understand. If they come here, you will all die!" I practically shout, frustrated.

"Our army is strong." one Martian grunts.

"Yours may be strong, but their's is stronger, bigger, and has the element of surprise because although you know they're coming, you don't know when!"

"What would you know, child? At this time, there is nothing but rumours!" another member of the council exclaims.

"And small rumours at that!" another adds.

"If you could even call it rumours, in all honesty it's little more than talk!"

"An idea! A stupid thought that a Slitheen has suggested and has been passed around the galaxy, becoming more and more extravagant as it goes!"

Typical Martians. Underexaggerate everything. It's going to take some determination to persuade them they're in danger.

I jump up, but they carry on talking so I jump onto the table. Aha! _That_ gets their attention!

"Listen! All of you! An army is coming, whether you like it and believe it or not! They are coming, and they are huge, and they won't care that they will slaughter all of you, because they are betting on it. There will be no alliance between you to stop this, because it's not winning they care about - it's how much they bring in from the punters." I tell them.

There is a silence and I hope with all my heart that they will listen to my warning.

The Head of the Council, an elderly, wise Martian who has said nothing so far stands, and I can almost feel the respect radiating from the Council to him.

"How do we stop this?" he asks in an old, rumbling voice.

I smile, so relieved to be listened to.

"You ask." I say simply. "You tell other planets, tell them how if they don't form an alliance with you, the Slitheen will simply move onto their planets next. Alone, you just can't do this. But together, well... that's a different matter. If you don't manage to scare the Slitheen off with just the size of your allied army, then you'll beat them easily with so many on your side. So, chop chop! Get working and don't" I point at each of the Council in turn "make me come back here again. Unless of course you're having a tea party. I like tea parties."

I grin and leave the room, tapping at my Vortex Manipulator. I have to check. Just to be sure.

And, sure enough, two years in the future and the Slitheen family have almost been wiped out, Mars is safe and thriving, and is renowned for its alliance with so many planets.

Sometimes, all it takes is for someone to listen.

* * *

><p>A year since I've left, roughly. It's hard to keep track of time when you don't live anywhere and you spend all your days travelling, saving the world. Because if I'm going to go all over the universe looking for my parents, I may as well help people along the way.<p>

It hurts now. To think about them. I can't speak about them. I sort of freeze whenever parents or family is mentioned. It hurts. So much.

Time is meant to heal, but it just reminded me more and more of what I have missed out on, what I am missing out on.

But it's not a bad life. In fact, it's brilliant. For example, who can say they spent their birthday in the company of the great King Denusa - I mean, he's a _fish_, who rules the Lost City of Atlantis! And to spend the whole day underwater, without needing oxygen because of the strange air bubbles they give you that keep you stocked up for twenty four hours, well... that just takes the biscuit!

So, eight years old, brain with the intelligence of a fourteen year old, and on the run. And I can't think of anything I'd rather do - except, of course, one thing; being with my parents.

I honestly don't know where I am. I got on the cruise for a laugh, and bit of relief from my hectic lifestyle, but as they say, there's no rest for the wicked!

At first, when I hear the security breach, I think it's going to be simple - a couple of rogue aliens on board, easily gotten rid of by a bit of diversion towards an air lock.

But then I hear it, right from the back of the ship, as loud and clear as if it was right there in the room, a noise that chills me to the bone.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" I've never heard it before, but even in the Gamma Forests the Daleks are well known. People are screaming and falling and dying. The staff are trying to evacuate guests as quickly as possible, and then people start to arrive.

I assume it's the rescue crew, but there only appears to be three men, holding huge guns.

I see a staff member head my way, and dive under a table so they don't see me and evacuate me. I'm sticking around.

After a lot of shouting and screaming, eventually the only sounds are the Dalek's trying to break through the door into the room and the three men forming a plan. I wait another moment, then crawl out from under the table.

"So when they come in, duck behind your table and shoot like hell, aim for the eye stalk and don't stop, no matter who dies!" the one with the trench coat is saying; he's American, I notice.

I see more men have appeared, so there's about twenty in total, but they appear to just be the staff from the ship and a couple of volunteers from the cruise ship guests. I'm the only girl in the room.

"You shoot, you duck. Be accurate. Make your bullets count. It really is quality, not quantity." then, he sees me. "What the hell is that kid doing here?! Get her outta here!"

I stand.

"I can fight." I say strongly.

He snorts. "Sure y'can sweetheart. Bet you'd be great."

"I'm not lying."

"Sure, just get outta here before this gets serious."

Angry and desperate to prove him wrong, I grab a gun from the arms of the nearest man, grab three plates from a table and position the gun in my arms.

Without missing a beat, I throw all three in the air in totally opposite directions.

Three shots fired in quick succession.

I hit each one, right in the middle.

Grinning, I lower my gun, holding back laughter at the wide eyes of the men.

But the leader just turns away, sighs.

"It's pretty different when the plates are firing back at you. But you wanna risk your life, go ahead." he waves at a space near the back, throws me a gun.

"I want to be up front." I demand, knowing if he'll let me, it'll all be over quickly.

"No! Only I'm up front!" he argues.

"Ooooh, bit cocky are we?"

"No! Im up front because it doesn't matter if I die."

"Well, me either then!" I grin, finding his frustration hilarious.

"Fine! Get yourself killed! See if I care!" he yells taking his position.

I slide down next to him, aim my gun.

"Positions... ready... Rex!" he yells, and one of his team presses a button that explodes the doors in front of us.

The Daleks glide in, in line, bullets pinging off their body already.

I can't help but laugh. Sitting ducks.

Twenty seconds, and it's over. Five bullets from me, fired in quick succession, right through each Daleks eyestalk.

Timelords seem to have surprisingly good aim.

I look up, grinning, but the leader is glaring at me in fury. Before I can say anything, he grabs my wrist and pulls me roughly from the room, slamming the door behind him and shoving me up against a wall.

"Who are you? How did you do that?" he says through gritted teeth.

"What? I-I-I just did it, I just shot them!" I exclaim, eyes wide.

"Who are you? How do you know how to do that?" he yells.

"I don't know, I just do! Please, please let go of me!"

"WHO ARE YOU?"

"Melody Pond, that's it, that's all I am, just a person!"

"You can't just fight like that, someone must have taught you!"

"I swear, no one did, no one!" and I can't help it, I'm crying, in both fear and sadness "there was no one to teach me! My parents... I grew up alone!"

He releases me, and I do my best to wipe away the tears.

"You... you're just a kid." he says in disbelief.

"Yep." I sniff.

He backs away a little.

"So... that's it? No special training, no being genetically modified?"

I shake my head.

"Huh. Well. And I thought we were skilled at Torchwood."

"Torchwood?"

"It's a group, me and those other two guys I came with, and there's a girl who isn't here today. But she hasn't come for a while. I just hope she hasn't given up just yet." he says with sad eyes.

"Sounds impressive." I say sarcastically.

"Oh shut up! It did used to be, back in the good ol' days. There were more of us, we were better, happier. Before..."

"Before what?"

"Doesn't matter. Anyway, what about you? Surely you have some family? What about your parents? What happened to your parents?"

I can't stand it. It's stupid, I know, but it hurts so much, too much, and I clamp my hands over my ears and run.

He chases me, eventually catches up and grabs my arm, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry." he stares at me as I slowly take my hands away.

"It's just... I can't go to them... Fixed point in time. I can't talk about them... It hurts. Here." I tap my chest.

"Right... so, what do you do? Where do you live?" he asks.

"Ah." I smile again. "That's my favourite part. I save the world."

"What?"

"I just travel, sleep where I can, eat what I can steal or find, and then, if where I go the world needs saving... I do it!"

"You won't believe this but you sound exactly like a guy I know!" the leader says, and we both laugh.

"So, who are you?" I ask.

"Captain Jack Harkness at your service." he smiles winningly.

"Well, Captain Jack Harkness... what would you say to me joining your 'Torchwood'?"

"We need all the help we can get!" he answers and shakes my hand. "Welcome to Torchwood!"

We walk back into the other room. The staff and other men have left. Only Torchwood members remain.

"Jack, is everything ok?" asks one, and I notice they are still holding guns.

"It's fine, put down the guns, guys." Jack informs them, and they drop their weapons. "And welcome our newest member."

They stare at me, probably wondering if Jack's gone mad.

"Jack, erm... isn't she a bit... young?" one asks.

"Yeah Jack, what the hell are you playing at? What is she like, six?" another says, a bit more aggressively than the other - he, like Jack, has an American accent.

"Eight, actually." I chip in.

"Rex, come on. Did you see her with those Daleks? Each one, gone in less than a minute. Imagine how long it would've taken without her. Imagine how many men we'd have lost. You, most of all, know how we can't afford to lose anymore people. Torchwood's almost gone. Without it, there's little to protect the Earth. Without her," he puts a hand on each of my shoulders. "we could all fall."

"Jack, me and you ain't got that problem." Rex says.

"You know what just happened Rex! Did Miracle Day teach you nothing?" Jack says angrily, then, returns to a calmer tone. "We aren't in a position to turn people away."

Rex nods.

"Right so... Melody Pond, Rex Matheson, Andy Davidson." Jack introduced us. "You guys, I think we're done here so, see you next time."

They teleport away, leaving me and Jack alone.

* * *

><p>We sit on the edge of the door to the cruise ship, staring out at the stars around us.<p>

"So, what does Torchwood do?" I ask.

"Well, it used to do pretty much everything. Invent things, save the world, fight aliens, use their technology. 'If it's alien, it's ours'. Those were the days... And then... they all died."

"How?" I ask.

"Tosh and Owen were killed by my brother Gray. And Ianto... Ianto died from a virus realised into the air by aliens." Jack says sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happened a while ago."

"So... if you protect the Earth, why are you here? _This_ isn't Earth." I gesture around us.

He laughs.

"No, it's not. We came because of the Daleks. They're growing in number, but the ones we destroy, like the ones back there, they're not real Daleks. They're close, but there's not a real Dalek inside, just a machine that makes it work like one. We think they're testing us. Seeing how skilled we are, how many times we can conquer them. They can't waste real Daleks anymore. Not now their numbers have dwindled to so little. There's only so many times they can come back."

"Then we need to find the real Daleks." I say.

"It's almost impossible. Torchwood is dying. I can try to pretend as much as I like, but there's only so many times we can come back as well. So many of us have died. There's not that many of us left. Pretty soon, it'll just be me. Besides, even if we do reform, it won't be the same. Not like in the beginning. "

"Can't you do anything to save it? I mean, it sounds like it was amazing." I say in awe.

"Torchwood is no longer a choice. If you know about it, you join because that really is all we can do now. Those who are forced to join... usually die. Only Andy's left of those made to join, and only a few are excused from joining." Jack says simply.

We sit, silent, thinking. After a while, Jack stands and dusts himself off.

"Coming?" he asks.

"Where?" I say, standing.

"I know a friend who might take us in. So we'll have somewhere to stay. Mind you, she may be a bit mad at me. It's been a while."

* * *

><p>Jack knocks on the door.<p>

A woman answers, carrying a baby.

She looks at Jack, then me.

"Oh for God's sake Jack, what the hell have you done now?"


End file.
